ANOTHER vigil in memory of Sarah Everard was held in central London last night – just yards from where MPs were debating what has suddenly become a very controversial piece of proposed legislation.
There have been numerous vigils across Scotland marking the death of the 33-year-old marketing executive and protesting against violence against women, but for the second evening running, Parliament Square in London was the focus of attention. The Metropolitan Police, one of whose officers has been charged with Everard’s murder, did not intervene or arrest anyone.
The Met’s heavy-handed arrests and mistreatment of women for allegedly breaking Covid-19 laws at the Clapham Common vigil for Everard on Saturday night provoked calls for the resignation of Commissioner Cressida Dick, and Home Secretary Priti Patel has instituted an independent inquiry into the policing at Clapham.
Yesterday the House of Commons debated the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill which contains proposals to give police powers to limit public protests, and the events of the weekend were clearly on the minds of MPs.
Labour MP for Streatham, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, said: “What happened on Saturday was a reminder of what happens when police try to bypass the views of the communities they serve.”
Green MP Caroline Lucas said: “Handing over more draconian powers to the police when they have got it so badly wrong would be both foolish and dangerous.”
Labour has said it will oppose the bill, with shadow justice minister David Lammy saying it was “no time to be rushing through poorly thought-out measures to impose disproportionate controls on free expression”.
More than 150 groups, including human rights charities, unions and faith communities, have warned it would have a hugely detrimental effect on civil liberties, but Patel denied this and disagreed with the bill’s opponents.
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